TsundereHime
by fanaticoffanfics
Summary: Alternate title: Prickly Pear Princess. Beneath Bon's prickly exterior, hides a sweet disposition. A Bon/Rin love story. **part 2 removed in compliance with content rules on this website!**


**Warning: gay love ahead! And swears and heavy references to drinking.**

Note: Hime is princess in japanese & tsundere is a personality type/progression of a character, just type it into google if you want to know exactly. This story features RinxBonxRin or sugurin. Also please look up this story on adultfanfiction if you'd like to read the bonus part 2. Enjoy!

Tsundere-Hime

(Prickly Pear Princess)

"I can't believe it. I came all the way here to visit for only the weekend and you wont even come out with us." Shima said with disappointment evident in his voice. "I haven't seen you in two weeks and even then it was for work!" He was laying the guilt down pretty heavy, but Bon refused to pick it up. It'd been the same argument for over fifteen minutes now, and he was outnumbered three to one. But, even if it was true that he rarely got to see Shima since the man had moved back to Kyoto, he was still stubborn as a mule and wouldn't budge.

"I hung out with you guys all last night so don't gimme that crap! And who's gonna let you all in anyways?" Bon threw out an arm, his fingers outstretched, palm tilted halfway up at Rin, showcasing him like some angry and severely demented-looking Vanna White would a vowel. "He's not even old enough!"

Rin's blue eyes went electric as his ever-quick anger sparked. "Don't say it like I'm a kid!" he shouted...very much like a kid. "I can have the responsibility to save the world more than once already, but not to go out to the bar? I think I'm old enough to have a drink dammit! It's only a couple more months till my birthday anyways." Bon glared back at Rin for a second after his outburst, but there was nothing to argue against what he'd said, because really, it was true. So he settled with an exasperated shake of his head and a sort of face-palm that he dragged down and off his chin tiredly, clearly showing he couldn't believe he was friends with these two. Rin smirked at that, then grinned widely after pulling something from his pants pocket, holding it at arms length towards Bon. It was a fake ID that stated him to be about 7 months older than he actually was. It looked authentic at a foot back from where Bon peered at it, but he rolled his dark eyes anyways, unimpressed. So that's what Shima had been out gallivanting with Rin for early that morning.

"I'm still not coming. But I hope you guys have fun," he said flatly and stalked off to his room, locking the door behind himself just in case either Shima or Rin felt the need to pester him anymore. If those idiots wanted to get slobbering drunk at some stupid strip club then all the power to them. But Bon would definitely not be dragged along for it. He almost couldn't believe Shima had somehow managed to get even Konekomaru in on their, as he called it, 'guy's night out'. Koneko almost always took Bon's side. Admiration and over protectiveness even made him follow his childhood friend to the same university. Meanwhile Shima, who lacked ambition for anything besides chasing girls, had moved back home to do Lord knew what between missions he got as a part time exorcist for the Order.

Maybe it had something to do with the destination's name: The Cat House. ...Nah, Koneko wasn't that naive. In fact the little guy was further ahead than Bon himself, who had never even made it to second base with a girl before. Koneko was actually pretty popular with the ladies ever since he'd ditched the glasses for light green contacts and grew out his hair during the same year they'd all finished high school. He'd never brought any girls back to their flat, probably out of consideration for his best friend, but there were a few nights that he didn't come home and had admitted to being out with women. His bashful cuteness attracted all ages and looks, and much to to Shima's dismay, these were the type of girls that aggressively pursued their tiny friend. Poor Shima would forever remain the chaser, trying to impress ones that were either way out of his league or just plain not interested. Oh well, it was his own fault. Bon was actually starting to wonder if it was just an act by now that Koneko put on, cute and innocent to match his looks, to attract the women since he really must have grown out of that persona by now.

It was kind of sad now that he thought about it. The once extremely pure little Konekomaru, far more experienced and even farther from innocence than Bon himself. And yet he just couldn't bring himself to go out on the prowl with his boys. Ugh, Bon frowned to himself. He would just never get the appeal of sitting in a smokey building full of drunk and horny middle-aged men to gawk lewdly at fake breasts. Call him old fashioned, but Bon longed for a real relationship, not just to chase tail on the weekends. But between keeping scholarship level grades, working part time as an exorcist, and his extremely prickly exterior [both in appearance and attitude], no opportunities for dating came for Bon.

The boys who were left in the main room exchanged a three-way glance, silently communicating the thought they all had on their mind; What the hell was his problem?

Rin shrugged it off then shouted at Bon's closed door, "Thanks! See ya later, you grumpy bastard!"

…...

About an hour later, Bon was mostly finished being gloomy and half-lay reclined in bed. Saturday night and here he was; alone, locked up in his bedroom, reviewing the latest chapter for his psych class. Funny how, deep down, he longed for companionship yet felt a pang of irritation when his cell phone chimed from its place on the floor beside the futon. Far from in the mood to be social with anyone, even if it was from behind a text, he picked up the hunk of circuits housed in plastic anyways.

_From: Shima_

_Bon! u really shud com out. Coz not only do you suck. but now okamure is acting all fuckin lame 2! There NAKED women rigt in front of him and all he can do is talk about u! srsly its fuked up. Now get yer ass down so he shuts the f up! ok? Theres time to Just quit being sucha stiff prick,. its be easy if you let ur get laid and Im telling u it can arranged that if you just get over here!_

Bon blinked then reread the message because it was hard to understand ...then reread it one more time without trying to read the things that weren't in it. What had Rin been saying about him? He wanted to ask, but he was still pissed off at Shima, who was obviously very drunk because he didn't normally swear so much [or text so badly] and to even try to communicate with him would be trouble. Feeling irritated, he chucked the cell at the opposite end of the bed. It landed somewhere next to his feet.

He really didn't want to go out drinking. Was it that bad just wanting to stay in for the night? Though he wished he had someone to spend the time with, he was certain it was still better than the alternative.

For his twentieth birthday the three Shima brothers, along with Koneko, had taken him out to the club. Shot after shot after shot, until the majority of the night became a dim haze in his memory. Even as a lightweight teenager who was new to drinking, he'd never outdid it as badly as the night it was finally legal for him. The part he remembered the most was the horrible hangover he had the next day. But worse than the foggy recollections of 'dancing' like a complete buffoon on the floor or even the memory of acid crowding his nasal cavity as he puked his guts out the following afternoon [because in the morning he had miraculously woken still drunk] was the alarm of having no recollection whatsoever of a large portion of the night.

He did, however, have two strange texts in his sent folder and one thirty-three minute long call logged in his phone's history, received from the one and only Rin Okumura. He was forced to admit to himself, after the mortification he felt over things he might have said when he was drunk, that the strange way he felt about Rin for the past three or four years was in actuality far deeper than friendship and rivalry. He told himself the crush was miniscule though and that he'd grow out of it eventually... Even though he was already a grown man now. Bon sighed and wished he could remember that phone call, though also wished he would never remember it. Ever. The couple texts had him embarrassed enough. Had his fingers really typed those things out to Rin? And so he was too scared to ask the other what he had said over the phone while trashed out of his mind past three in the morning.

Bon decided, on that most painful day three weeks ago, that he would never drink again.

…...

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Bon's muscles jerked as he was forced from slumber. When had he fallen asleep? The textbook lay open, but face down on his chest. He rubbed fingers over his eyes quickly to clear them and glanced at his alarm clock. 1:52.

*BANG! BANG!* was accompanied this time by a few shouted words that were too muffled to make out because of the doors that separated them from him.

A low growl reverberated in his throat as he got up to answer, dropping the book onto the desk on his way out.

He swung the front door open right as Rin was about to start another round of loud knocking on it. Bon grabbed his raised arm by the wrist and roughly yanked the man into the apartment. Gracelessly, he tripped up from the pull and into Bon who stood like a brick wall. His body bumped off the large solid chest but he didn't fall back very far as he was steadied by the wrist still held captive. The door fell shut after them. "You trying to get us evicted?" Bon hissed, "you probably woke up half the building! Can't you ever do anything without being so noisy?"

Blue eyes stared up with a glazed expression. Though he'd grown, so had Bon, always leaving him ten or so centimeters behind. A deep blush painted Rin's high cheekbones and his lips were parted ever so slightly. He looked kind of dumb like that, and yet Bon's heart still skipped a beat. His cute face was close enough that all he could smell was the scent of alcohol, very heavy, on his breath. "Just how drunk are you? ...And where's the others?" he asked in a a clearly unimpressed tone.

Rin snapped from his stupor at that and snatched his arm back from Bon's grasp. "Shima wanted to stay till closing so Koneko's looking after him... And I only had a couple drinks!" he said quite loudly. Then, seeming to notice the unnecessary volume of his own voice, lowered it a notch, "and don't worry about the neighbors. Shit, you guys live next to the university! Every other renter here is probably out partying tonight, you're the only one we should worry about," his lips formed an evil little smirk. Years had gone by and still Rin always wanted to play this same game with Bon. Some things never changed. Trying to get a rise out of each other would always be fun no matter how much time passed. "I mean it's just not normal, sulking all by yourself while your friends are out having fun."

"I wasn't sulking," Bon said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest, only managing to make himself out to be guiltily defensive.

"Hah! Yeah suuuuure you weren't," the shorter man grinned as he pushed past Bon, who turned to follow closely behind. He made his way to the kitchen and helped himself to the fridge.

"What are you doing here like some stray anyways! ? Go to your own home why don't ya?" Bon urged.

"Are you kidding?" Rin asked with raised eyebrows. He lived all the way on the other side of the city near their old academy with his brother who still instructed there. "You know how many transfers it is to my place? Took me like 2 hours to get back from here last night!...train schedule's crap at night," he grumbled. "Your stuck with me."

"Like hell!" Bon protested, but Rin kept on.

"Well this place is only half yours. Koneko already said I could stay and I ain't leaving," he smirked, though the other couldn't see it as he was still faced away, bent over rummaging through the fridge. "So get over it."

Bon blanched at the audacity for a second before his cheeks heated and colored with anger. He reigned it in though with a deep breath. His short fuse had tempered slightly over the years, age and maturity forcing its length, but this one person still managed to irritate him beyond comparison of anything else. He had half a mind to physically toss Rin out the door, but before he had the chance to grab him by the collar of his shirt the annoying man turned from the fridge with a can of beer in hand. [left over from what Shima had brought last night] He popped the tab and held it out for Bon to take.

"I don't drink," he claimed, arms still crossed, having never left that position since Rin had shown up.

Rin gave a cheeky smile at that. "Right... Not since your birthday, eh?" Something mischievous sparkled in those big blue eyes. The look said it all. Rin knew **exactly** why he refused to drink anymore, and wouldn't hesitate to bring that information out to play if Bon didn't do as he wished. He grabbed one of Bon's large hands, peeling his arm from its stern position, and forced his fingers to grasp the can he placed into them. "Come on, Princess. Just one won't hurt you." With subtley threatening fangs and all, he smiled like the demon he truly was, then turned back to grab a beer for himself. Bon HATED that stupid nickname, which is likely why Rin still used it. However, there was no choice but to flee the kitchen instead of starting a fight over it if he didn't want to give Rin the opportunity to use what secrets he knew as ammo.

He planted himself on the couch in the main room and clicked on the TV, not bothering with the lights. As expected Rin followed him, which was why he choose the living room over his own. He flopped down on the middle seat right next to Bon, leaving the left hand cushion empty just like the token annoying stranger on the train would. You know the kind, who always happens to ignore every other passenger and invade your personal space specifically. Bon shot him a glare without turning to face him, but Rin didn't notice because his eyes were closed, chin up as he hurriedly tossed his drink back. Surfing the channels for a minute, Bon stopped on some random late night variety show. They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, just watching the show even though he didn't have much interest in it. It seemed to him that Rin didn't either, because he could feel those blue eyes on him as the half-demon continually sent glances his way, perhaps trying to catch his gaze. Bon pretended not to notice though. It was so awkward that he wished he could just scream to release the stress building up. He hadn't been alone with Rin since the phone call that he couldn't remember. Well, except for that mission a week or so back, but one tended to not think about stuff like that when there were lives on the line including your very own.

Rin excused himself to the washroom. When he returned, tail behind him now hanging out in plain view, it was with another three beer. When he handed one over, Bon made no move to refuse this time even though he'd only finished off half of his first one.

He could tell Rin wanted to bring it up. He could feel the questions silently sitting on the tip of his tongue, ready to jump off, just from the way he was so uncharacteristically quiet. His long black appendage thumped rhythmically against the cushions on the opposite side from Bon. It was obvious Rin was nervous too. He continued to knock back the liquid courage, even though his eyes were already half-lidded and his cheeks flushed. Not counting the ones he had at the bar, he was already on his third drink. Any minute now, Rin was going to pipe up, Bon was certain of it, so he followed the bad example and quickly drained his second drink. He was a big guy though so it wasn't enough to loosen him up.

"Ya know..." started Rin with a slight slur. Here it comes, thought Bon. "It's really too bad I missed your last birthday party." He leaned in close enough that the other man could make out the stunning detail of every crease in his lips even in a room lit only by the television's eerie blueish glow. Bon moved away a small fraction and felt his back press against the armrest, leaving him no space to retreat further.

"Don't worry about it. You were outta town for work, so no hard feelings," he said, voice guarded, even though he knew what Rin was saying wasn't meant to be an apology, but rather a start to a conversation he wasn't ready to have. Maybe if he played dumb Rin would lose the nerve required to broach the difficult subject and he could go another day in his comfortable circle of denial. It'd be lucky, but there wasn't much hope. After drinking that much, there was little chance the half-demon had any inhibitions left which hadn't died from drowning to hold him back.

Rin apparently choose to completely ignore the attempt at dodging the situation, and placed one palm onto Bon's thigh to support himself, fingers curling into the flesh, as he encroached even further into the others personal bubble. Bon's heart gave a threatening lurch, and he silently prayed it wasn't a premonition of arrest. He swallowed audibly. "Okumura, what are you-" but he was cut off.

"I wanna see you like that," Rin's voice had become lower in pitch at the confession. Bon gave him a confused look.

"Like what?" his voice came out oddly husky and half hushed. It felt hard to breathe under the heavy press of Rin's advance.

He looked at him like a predatory cat would when ready to pounce, especially with how his tail snaked back and forth behind him. Bon curved his upper spine backwards over the armrest in an uncomfortable last ditch effort to escape, but Rin just followed, bringing his legs up onto the couch and kneeling over top of him so he could brace his hands against the couch on either side of Bon's shoulders. Gently, he tilted his forehead down to touch Bon's and stared into his eyes. Even though it was too close to be anything but blurry, it didn't matter because Bon felt all his blood starting to flow south and figured he wouldn't be able to see straight anyways at this point. Rin sighed, his breath reeking of alcohol, and tipped his head down. His nose rested against Bon's neck just under his ear. Great Buddha! How drunk was he to be acting this way? It was unlike anything he'd ever seen him do and as much as his body liked it, he couldn't help but think how wrong it was. What was Rin playing at here? He should probably let him know it wasn't funny in the slightest.

"I want..." Rin said quietly, but didn't finished. It seemed words were failing him and he sighed again against Bon's neck, pulling an excited shiver from him. "What I mean is," he tried again, "you always act like a jerk to me, but I wanna hear you talk like that again."

Either Rin wasn't making much sense, or Bon's mind was too oxygen deprived to keep up and so all he could respond with was a grunted, "huh?"

Precisely at that moment, a key jarring in the front door lock could be heard. The sound startled both men out of whatever trance they'd been ensnared. Bon roughly shoved Rin off of him and sat up straight, right as Konekomaru staggered through the door. His small frame was burdened heavily with the weight of a severely inebriated Shima. He forced the drunk's arm from around his shoulder.

No longer with support, Shima slumped piteously to the floor, and lay there for approximately six seconds looking like he'd actually keeled over from alcohol poisoning. Then suddenly he shot up from the ground, hands over his mouth, and sprinted towards the washroom. The rest of the guys were left in the living room to cringe at the sound of retching.

As nasty as it was to hear it, Bon was thankful because it instantly withered his arousal. Konekomaru hit the lights and with a distasteful look said, "I don't even know how it's possible that he's puking again. We had to stop twice already on the way over here!"

Rin was looking far more sober in the artificial light than he did a moment ago and exclaimed, "Gross!" then cackled evilly at his sick friend's expense. "Guess I shouldn't have left you to take care of him alone. Sorry, my bad," he apologized and then ran off to go pester Shima in the washroom. The two men could clearly hear Rin laughing and poor Shima groaning and telling the annoying hell-spawn to, "Fuck off" from the living room. Konekomaru giggled, though he looked tired. Served Shima right.

"You have fun?" Bon inquired as he got up from the couch.

"Ummm, I guess," the small aria replied cryptically.

Bon noted that this was his chance to escape Rin so he bid his friend goodnight and quickly made his exit.

…...

Some time after the overcrowded apartment had fallen silent, Bon lay wide awake in bed. The rest of the guys must have been asleep by then. Sleep wouldn't come to Bon though, troubled as he was. Even though it was the middle of the night already, the bedroom was still hot as hell. His skin still tingled in all the places Rin had touched, and neck felt damp with sweat where he'd breathed upon it. Trying to catalog old memories of blue eyes and a chipper voice, some of them half-forgotten by now, Bon's mind raced. He searched through years worth of encounters and observations, trying to stack them in a way that would let him make sense of Rin's behavior that night. Was this something he should have seen coming? Or had Rin just been playing a cruel game with him, too drunk to know any better? And just what was he himself so damn afraid of anyways, that he had felt like a rabbit cornered by a fox? And fuck, he should really consider turning up the air conditioning!... but the dial was out in the living room right where the source of his problems lay. Probably sleeping, peacefully too, the bastard.

Out of nowhere, he heard a very light rapping at his door, almost like it sounded when a cat wants in. "Bon-pssst! Bon!" He pretended to be asleep, not wanting to see the idiot while he was still drunk. He'd sort this out with him another day... if he had the balls to bring it up ever.

"Suguro, come on! I know you're awake," came at a higher volume. He faked a snore. The rapping stopped for a moment, and then, "you ass, you so suck at lying even if you don't have to use words for it! I'm coming in." True to his word, Rin barged on in.

Bon groaned in irritation. "What the hell do you want now? ! I'm trying to sleep here."

Rin closed the door behind himself, but didn't venture farther into the room. Dead serious looking, "Let me sleep in here with you." he said calmly.

"What? ! No way!" Bon sat up in bed. "Get out."

"But—Please!" Rin now made his way next to Bon, dropping to knees beside him on the wide futon with hands clasped in front of his chest. "Shima snores! I can't sleep in the living room with him! Besides he took the couch and you guys don't even have any extra blanket for me to make a bed on the floor!"

Bon's hard gaze held no sympathy. "So go bother Koneko."

"His bed is way too small for two people! "

"So sleep in the bathtub for all I care."

Rin gaped at him. "Wow, Suguro. I know you can be a real heartless bastard, but really? !Can't you show just a smidge of compassion? You won't even know I'm here, I swear!" He whined, his volume growing louder as he continued on. His face had gotten closer too. Bon could still smell the alcohol on his breath.

"I'm not heartless, you asshole!"

"Yeah I know." If the room wasn't so dark, Bon would have been able to catch the playful sparkle in Rin's eyes as he said this, "you just act like it. Right, _Tsundere-Hime_?" He stretched the first syllable of the loathed nickname out to achieve maximum annoyance.

Bon sputtered, "T-that's...you...!" His cheeks heated with a blush as he realized his mind wouldn't come up with anything to say to that.

A warm chuckle emitted from Rin who was quite happy with himself. It wasn't every day he could render Bon speechless by outwitting him. Hell, it wasn't even every other month! He was enjoying it immensely, and so he pushed further. Leaning in so his lips hovered beside Bon's ear he whispered, "It's ok if you want to show me your sweet side." The air became stuck somewhere down the line of Bon's throat, as he felt Rin's tongue flick out to trace the metal of a piercing. He was unable to breathe, when finally his brain kicked into gear.

Opting not to shout, lest he wake his roommate, he hissed out, "The fuck, Okumura? ! You're drunk, so stop that." and shoved at his friend's chest. Rin toppled backwards, landing on his butt with arms back and hands splayed to catch himself. His feet were now flat against the futon instead of his knees, which were spread apart and pointing upwards. He sat there dumbstruck for a moment, mind spinning like tires over packed snow. Had he pushed too far? Was Bon actually going to hate him for this? Or was he really just playing hard to get? He clutched his head in both hands, as if it would help with the dizzying confusion. He looked up at Bon.

The room was so dark. Only the sneakiest of beams squeezing themselves through the cracks of the blinds from outside, and so Rin could just barely make out the heated glare leveled at him with dark brown eyes. He felt an angry fire, fueled by his confusion and embarrassment, flare up inside himself. He sneered right back. "'What the fuck' yourself, Suguro! ? Quit giving me mixed signals!"

Bon's eyes grew wide with surprise at the accusation, but his brow shifted downwards and was accompanied by the stern gesture of a finger crossed vertical over his lips. Rin remembered himself and what time it was at the signal to keep it down. He calmed a bit, but it was only for a second because the next thing that came out of Bon's mouth was a hushed, "what the hell are you talkin' about?"

"You blush all cute-like every time I tease you, I catch you making eyes at me sometimes," rushed out heatedly, though he minded his volume, "and on your birthday you..." he paused, the anger seeming to have quickly bled out in its entirety, a colder emotion replacing it in Rin's veins.

"...You told me you love me."

Though it came out as a quiet whisper, Bon's heart wrenched in his chest at the immense emotion behind the words. It just wasn't right for Rin to sound so sad. He hated it so much that he just had to do something to fix it. Putting all of his own tangled emotions aside, he moved to take hold of the other, wrapping his shaky arms around Rin in a tight envelope and tucked his dark head under his chin. In the silence of the still bedroom, on his knees between Rin's legs, shaggy black hair tickling his neck, Bon could hear his own heart's admittance far too loud to be denied. It was true. He loved him.

He felt Rin's chest expand within his arms as the smaller man drew a deep sighing breath. "If you didn't mean it, then please stop playing with me, Suguro." he said as tiredly as a person defeated.

Bon pulled back from the embrace, leveled his face with Rin's, and gripped his shoulders. In a completely serious, deep baritone he said, "I did mean it." Rin stared back at him in mute amazement after the confession, eyes wide and glassy as a fawn's, lips completely slack. "... but I did **not** 'make eyes' at you."

It started as a twitch at the corner of Rin's lip, then blossomed into a huge grin, figuratively lighting up the night with its brilliance. If the sun had been around to see, even it would be jealous. He tackled Bon with a hug, forcing him down against the futon while he laughed whole-heartedly above him. It sounded on Bon's ears like sweet music and commanded his entire core aflutter. Rin gasped out between laughs, "Did too!"

Words had become superfluous by now, so he instinctively pressed his lips to Rin's instead of arguing.


End file.
